
STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
If you have been following my blog, you will know that my late mother was a Cantonese and a master of cantonese soups. Growing up, having soup everyday was a must in our household. During the week, my mother would make simpler cantonese soups, known as ‘Gun Tong’ or 滚烫, which means ‘quick boiling soups’.
However we always looked forward to the weekends when my mother would cook more elaborate soups known as ‘Bo Tong’ or 煲汤 that would need 2.5-4 hours to boil, bringing out the depth of flavour from the ingredients.
One of my favourite ‘Bo Tong’ is Wongbok Chicken Soup, which is so simple and yet so delicious. It goes perfectly with a bowl of steaming hot rice on a rainy day to soothe the cold and your soul.
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TRICK OF THE TRADE
I am allergic to MSG so I never add it to my cooking. This Wongbok Chicken Soup is naturally sweet due to the natural sugars in the wongbok, and full of rich umami flavour due to the dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms, duck gizzards and yunnan ham. No MSG needed there!
In my recipe tips, I mentioned that you can purchase yunnan ham and other waxed goods like chinese sausages from Chinatown Wet Market. As for preserved duck gizzard, they are only available during the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Read below for a BONUS tip to save you some money during the Chinese New Year!
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It’s simple to make. Like other soups, all you need to do is to prepare the ingredients, then boil them!
- It’s a great soup to drink for cold, rainy days, as the sweet and umami flavours of the soup will warm you up!
HOW TO MAKE WONGBOK CHICKEN SOUP?
- Wash and blanch the pork ribs.
- Clean the chicken and remove all innards. Rub the chicken skin with coarse salt to remove the thin yellowish film covering the skin.
- Soak the mushrooms in hot water until soft, then cut off and discard the stalks. Do not discard the water used to soak the mushroom. Instead, add it to the soup for more umami flavour.
- Remove the skin from the ginger and cut into thick slices.
- Wash the Wong Bok and cut into 2 1/2 cm width wise.
- Pour hot water over the yunnan ham and gizzard to dissolve the waxy oil covering, and rinse thoroughly.
- Cut the yunnan ham into thick slices.
- In a big pot, add in 3 1/2 litres of water and bring to a boil over high heat..
- Add in the pork ribs, mushrooms, mushroom soaking water, ginger, Chinese ham, duck gizzards and the whole chicken, then continue to boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat to medium low and continue to simmer for 3 hours.
- Add in the Wong Bok and continue to boil for another 30 mins.
- In the last 15 mins, add in the wolfberries.
- Serve with a bowl of warm rice
MARKETING TIPS
- Preserved duck gizzard is available at Chinatown Wet market located at Chinatown Complex (Smith Street). Look out for shops that sell Chinese sausages, salted fish and other dried goods.
COOKING TIPS
- Do not add salt to the soup. The duck gizzard and the ham are salty enough.
- Do not add the wolfberries too early as the soup will turn a bit sour if the wolfberries are cooked too long.
- Add few slices of ginger when cooking Wongbok/Napa Cabbage to counteract the cooling effect as Wong Bok is a cooling vegetable.
ADJUSTMENTS
- Add more Chinese Ham instead if you cannot get the duck gizzard.
- For a healthier version, remove the skin from the chicken. As for me, I remove the fattier part of the skin and retain some to give the soup a smoother texture.
- After cooking, the texture and the taste of the duck gizzard is like yunnan ham, soft and tender. If you prefer to have a more crunchy texture, take out the duck gizzards about 45 mins into the boiling process.
HOW TO BLANCH PORK RIBS
- Add 3 bowls of water to a pot and bring to a boil.
- Add in the pork ribs and boil for about 8-10 mins until the scum surface.
- Discard the water and rinse the pork ribs thoroughly removing any blood clot in the crevices of the bones.
BONUS TIP!
I usually stock up several months’ supply of waxed goods by visiting the Chinatown pasar malam stalls on the last 1-2 days before Chinese New Year.
Most of the stalls would be giving great discounts of up to 50% off just to clear stock. I then store my haul in the freezer and they can keep well for several months!
Stock up on duck gizzards and Chinese sausages during CNY, where you will find plenty of ‘Pasar Malam’ stalls selling Chinese sausages and other waxed goods like waxed duck waxed pork belly etc,etc.
Duck gizzard usually come in a vacuum-pack of of 5 costing S$10/ pack. I usually go during the last 2 days before the Chinese New Year when the stallholders sell it at half price (S$5/pack) to clear stock.
You can buy a few packets and freeze them, and they can last for several months. Preserved waxed duck gizzard and ham also help to lower bodily heat.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
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Napa Cabbage Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken Large
- 2 tsp Coarse Salt For exfoliating the chicken skin
- 1/2 kg Pork Ribs
- 8-10 Chinese Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
- 30 gm Chinese Ham Yunnan ham / Jing Hua Huo Tui
- 2 Preserved Duck Gizzard
- 1 Napa Cabbage (Wong Bok) Approx. 500 gm
- 3 1/2 litres Water including the mushroom water
- 20 g Wolfberries
- 1 thumb-sized piece Ginger
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash and blanch the pork ribs.
- Clean the chicken and remove all innards. Rub the chicken skin with coarse salt to remove the thin yellowish film covering the skin.
- Soak the mushrooms in hot water until soft, then cut off and discard the stalks. Do not discard the water used to soak the mushroom. Instead, add it to the soup for more umami flavour.
- Remove the skin from the ginger and cut into thick slices.
- Wash the Wong Bok and cut into 2 1/2 cm width wise.
- Pour hot water over the yunnan ham and gizzard to dissolve the waxy oil covering, and rinse thoroughly.
- Cut the yunnan ham into thick slices.
COOKING METHOD
- In a big pot, add in 3 1/2 litres of water and bring to a boil over high heat..
- Add in the pork ribs, mushrooms, mushroom soaking water, ginger, Chinese ham, duck gizzards and the whole chicken, then continue to boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat to medium low and continue to simmer for 3 hours.
- Add in the Wong Bok and continue to boil for another 30 mins.
- In the last 15 mins, add in the wolfberries.
- Serve with a bowl of warm rice.
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- Preserved duck gizzard is available at Chinatown Wet market located at Chinatown Complex (Smith Street). Look out for shops that sell Chinese sausages, salted fish and other dried goods.
COOKING TIPS
- Do not add salt to the soup. The duck gizzard and the ham are salty enough.
- Do not add the wolfberries too early as the soup will turn a bit sour if the wolfberries are cooked too long.
- Add few slices of ginger when cooking Wongbok/Napa Cabbage to counteract the cooling effect as Wong Bok is a cooling vegetable.
ADJUSTMENTS
- Add more Chinese Ham instead if you cannot get the duck gizzard.
- For a healthier version, remove the skin from the chicken. As for me, I remove the fattier part of the skin and retain some to give the soup a smoother texture.
- After cooking, the texture and the taste of the duck gizzard is like yunnan ham, soft and tender. If you prefer to have a more crunchy texture, take out the duck gizzards about 45 mins into the boiling process.
HOW TO BLANCH PORK RIBS
- Add 3 bowls of water to a pot and bring to a boil.
- Add in the pork ribs and boil for about 8-10 mins until the scum surface.
- Discard the water and rinse the pork ribs thoroughly removing any blood clot in the crevices of the bones.
Hi..I’m interested to try out this dish. May I ask that the yunnan ham is make locally or imported?
And the duck gizzards beside boiling soup, what other dish can it turn into?
Thanks for your kind explanation.
Xiufang
Hi Xiufang, Yunnan ham (also known as ‘Jin Hua’ ham), preserved duck gizzard, waxed duck and waxed pork belly are imported mainly from China. Preserved duck gizzards are salted to preserve its shelf life, therefore it is usually very hard and salty. You can use it to boil soup for half an hour then remove it. This way the soup is tasty and the duck gizzard can be sliced up and eaten just like that. Or you can use it to cook chicken clay pot rice or ‘Lup Mei Fun’ with Chinese sausage or waxed duck as added ingredients. You… Read more »